Family History Book Series

The BC Jewish community is comprised of families that have come from all corners of the globe. Many undertook much struggle to stake their fortune in this new land. We are pleased to celebrate their stories and their accomplishments through our Family History Book Series.

This series is ongoing and we are constantly seeking new families to showcase. If you would like to have your family featured in a future volume, please contact the archives at: archives@jewishmuseum.ca

Volume One
Don’t Break The Chain: The Nemetz family journey from Svatatroiske to Vancouver

Fleeing persecution in Russia, the Nemetz family settled in Watrous, Saskatchewan. The Nemetz brothers refurbished electric generators and built the area’s first power plant. Beginning in 1922, all nine siblings moved to Vancouver, where they and their children had a tremendous impact on the growing Jewish Community.

The value of tzedakah ran deep for all nine siblings, and each contributed time and money to numerous causes, including: the Jewish Welfare Bureau (Jewish Family Service Agency), Louis Brier Home and Hospital, Jewish National Fund, Camps Hatikvah and Miriam, B’nai B’rith, Young Judea, and the Jewish Museum and Archives of BC.

Don’t Break the Chain was written and compiled by Shirley Barnett and Philip Dayson, children of Ben and Esther Dayson. It was produced in collaboration with the Ben and Esther Dayson Family Foundation.

Copies are available through the JMABC office for $36. To purchase a copy, contact info@jewishmuseum.ca